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Tuesday, September 13, 2011

As many people know Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world; and, for very good reason. It is made from coffee beans eaten, partly digested and then excreted by the Common palm civet, a weasel-like animal. Apparently the internal digestion adds a unique flavor to the beans, removing the bitter flavor; and, the beans are then picked up by locals and sold. The most expensive coffee beans can cost up to $600 a pound, and up to $50 per cup.

A new tea is hitting the market that is reminiscent of the Kopi Luwak bean.

In fact, An Yanshi of Sichuan University believes that tea lovers with be so enthusiastic about the new product that they'll be willing to pay up to $36,000 per pound (6x the cost of Kopi Luwak) of the stuff. Oh yeah, did I mention, it's also supposed to prevent cancer.

This isn't the first surprising use for panda poop; research has shown that their feces could be the key to a major breakthrough in biofuel production. The key for each application is the panda's digestive system, which only absorbs about 30% of the bamboo the animals eat. An Yanshi says that because bamboo contains an element that prevents cancer using bamboo-filled poop as fertilizer will confer that property on the tea. This claim has not been proven by any reliable source that I am aware of.

It helps that he's making green tea, which has antioxidants that seem to prevent cancer cells from dividing. So by his logic, the super tea will double down your protection against the deadly disease. Making it a green tea is a stroke of genius. Any good that happens will be credited immediately to the panda poo without investigation.

While An Yanshi says that the tea will have "a mature, nutty taste and a very distinctive aroma." Now, THAT claim I can believe. I am a farmer from away back; and, that scent is not unknown or distasteful to me. Now, having said that, I'm don't want my food to taste or smell like it. Even farmers want a change.

About Me

I'm fortunate to have several passions in my life. I am absolutely an eco-nut. I am always trying to find new ways to reduce, reuse, recycle. We, as a species, have done more harm to this planet in the short time we have been here, than any other catastrophe or happening ever has. It's up to us to fix it.
I care about the environment whether it is as small as a single cell or as large as the universe.
I adore creativity and think we can all do more with much less. This earth has enough resources for us all to live comfortably if we all learn to share. Wasn't that a lesson we were supposed to learn in kindergarten?
I also love the bizarre, unusual, the weird and the strange. Be prepared for the odd "different" blog.

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